The 50 kilometer journey of water has begun, 50 percent loss and leakage has demoralized Ihlas News Agency

Within the scope of the project carried out in cooperation with Sivas Municipality and State Hydraulic Works (DSI) 19th Regional Directorate, the pipeline from Pusat Özen dam, 50 kilometers away, to 4 Eylül dam, which provides the city’s drinking water, was completed.

Due to the drought that affected the city in recent years, the water level in the 4 Eylül dam, which meets some of the city’s drinking water needs, had reached its lowest point. As part of the temporary measures taken in the city, water cuts were made from time to time. Seeking a solution to this problem, Sivas Municipality rolled up its sleeves in cooperation with the 19th Regional Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI) and the pipeline was completed to supplement water from the Pusat Özen Dam, which is approximately 50 kilometers away, to the 4 Eylül Dam. The project was completed and water started to be supplied to the dam. Sivas Mayor Adem Uzun stated that the completion of the project does not mean that there will be no water shortage.

“The rate of loss and theft in the city is around 50 percent.”

Mayor Uzun stated that there are serious losses and leaks on the lines; “We will initiate a process of struggle against illegals on the lines. I am currently in talks regarding these issues, especially with some leading people and companies in Turkey. We will create a system in which we can establish a healthy water management of the city. For this purpose, we will establish a system called SKADA. Hopefully, we will manage water with this system. We want to create a healthy water management system in Sivas without experiencing any water outages in the next hundred years. As of now, we do not see any problems. But very severe droughts are expected in the world between 2029-30. In other words, there is global warming in the world and we will definitely encounter a global climate crisis that it has brought. Drought is one of the main natural disasters in Sivas. We want to fight against losses and illegalities, starting from the lines. Currently, the loss and illegality rate in the city is around fifty percent. Of course, this is not a problem that we will solve in 22 days. There is a need for serious work on this. But we are currently doing our research in the coming days. We will meet with experts. “And we will make the city’s water management healthy,” he said.

“The city may experience particularly serious problems in the future.”

Stating that the city may experience serious water problems in the coming years, Uzun said, “As of now, we see that the dam is recovering. In 2022, as water is being withdrawn from the bottom layer, which we call the bottom mud layer, we now see that the dam has recovered a little. Of course, there is a regular water transfer from the Pusat Özlem Dam along with this pipeline, but of course this did not end the city’s water problem. I would like to express this specifically so that such a perception does not arise. The pipeline has been completed, but the city’s problem is not over. The city may experience particularly serious problems in the future. In fact, we should not put too much pressure on the Pusat Özen Dam. After all, this is a dam built for agricultural irrigation purposes. Production here should not be disrupted, especially in its surroundings. The most important thing to do for this is, of course, the fight against loss and illegality. Lost and illegal people are our target. “If we can reduce the loss and theft rate, which is currently 50 percent, to a level of thirty percent, we will have achieved a great success,” he said.